A look at my Men's Basketball All-Conference ballot
03/01/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Tom Weber
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Here is my 2015 ballot for postseason MVC basketball awards. Note that I'm not permitted to vote for SIU's players. This year seemed more cut-and-dry than usual. That's likely due to the way Wichita State and Northern Iowa dominated the league. Their players make up 60 percent of my All-Conference team. Voting is done by league head coaches, radio announcers, beat writers, SIDs and TV analysts. Awards will be announced throughout the week leading up to the beginning of the tournament on Thursday.
All-Conference Team (in rank order)
Seth Tuttle, Northern Iowa
Fred Van Vleet, Wichita State
Ron Baker, Wichita State
Darius Carter, Wichita State
D.J. Balentine, Evansville
Tekele Cotton, Wichita State
Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville
Daishon Knight, Illinois State
Devonte Brown, Indiana State
Deon Mitchell, Northern Iowa
At the midway point in the season, I was leaning toward Fred Van Vleet as Player of the Year at the top of my ballot, but what Seth Tuttle has done to lead his team to a No. 10 national ranking is just so impressive. In conference games, he averages more than twice as many points (16.7) as the second-leading scorer on the team Deon Mitchell (7.5). He's shooting 63 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point and leads the team in rebounding and assists. Those are MVP numbers. Wichita State's VanVleet and Ron Baker have both had outstanding seasons as well, and at one point early in the season, I even considered Darius Carter as a Player of the Year candidate. Rounding out my first team is D.J Balentine, who is the best pure scorer in the conference. The toughest choice I had on the second team was to go with UNI guard Deon Mitchell for the final slot over teammate Wes Washpun. Mitchell's conference-only numbers were more impressive, in which he shot 59 percent from 3-point and had an excellent assist-turnover ratio. Others who received consideration for the All-Conference team were Brenton Scott, DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell and Milton Doyle, who is a top-five talent when healthy.
All-Freshman Team (in rank order)
Brenton Scott, Indiana State
Reed Timmer, Drake
Josh Cunningham, Bradley
Deontae Hawkins, Illinois State
Shaquille Morris, Wichita State
Brenton Scott leads the league in 3-point shooting and looks like he will become one of the MVC's premier players in the years ahead. Reed Timmer reminds me a lot of Jake Odum with his ability to probe defenses, create and score. Josh Cunningham has an amazing skill set, and Deontae Hawkins and Shaq Morris will be two of the league's top big men later in their careers. In a solid year for freshmen in the MVC, other considerations were MiKyle McIntosh, Wyatt Lohaus and Chris Kendrix.
All-Newcomer Team (in rank order)
DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell, Illinois State
Brenton Scott, Indiana State
Reed Timmer, Drake
Tramique Sutherland, Bradley
Montel James, Loyola
Akoon-Purcell narrowly edged Scott for my top Newcomer. Perhaps it's the way he lit up Southern Illinois, but the 6-foot-4 junior is such a dynamic player. Timmer is going to be a star in this league, and Tramique Sutherland was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing year for Bradley. Montel James was a big reason why Loyola jumped from last place to sixth in the standings this year. Other considerations were Camyn Boone, Paul Jespersen, Mizlav Brzoja and Warren Jones.
Coach of the Year: Gregg Marshall, Wichita State
With everyone gunning for them once again, the Shockers ran roughshod over the league, except for one game in Cedar Falls. Believe it or not, the Shockers are one of the youngest teams in the MVC, and give Marshall credit for incorporating a bench full of freshmen. My runners up for the award were Ben Jacobson and Porter Moser. In a normal year, Jacobson would have won the award hands down. He has a phenomenal team at UNI, and they could make a deep run in the tournament. Moser took a squad that was picked to finish last and coaxed them into a sixth-place finish. Not only that, he did it without his premier player, Milton Doyle, out for most of the season. Nice to see Loyola able to compete in this league.
Sixth-Man: Wes Washpun, Northern Iowa
That a player as talented as Washpun comes off the bench shows you just how deep UNI is. Teammate Nate Buss also warranted consideration, but he was not nominated. Others in the mix were Tre' Bennett, Bobby Hunter and Mislav Brzoja.
All-Defensive Team
Tekele Cotton, Wichita State
Egidijus Mockevicius, Evansville
Ron Baker, Wichita State
Jeremy Morgan, Northern Iowa
Wes Washpun, Northern Iowa
As the reigning defensive Player of the Year, Cotton gets the nod again as the MVC's top lock-down defender. No teams came close to guarding opponents as well as Wichita State and Northern Iowa, and that's why they're heavily represented on my All-Defensive team ballot.